LINKAGES IN PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF EXPORTED VEGETABLES: PERSPECTIVES OF FARMERS AND FIRMS IN LUC NAM DISTRICT, BAC GIANG PROVINCE, VIETNAM

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1 J. ISSAAS Vol. 18, No. 1: (2012) LINKAGES IN PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF EXPORTED VEGETABLES: PERSPECTIVES OF FARMERS AND FIRMS IN LUC NAM DISTRICT, BAC GIANG PROVINCE, VIETNAM Nguyen Anh Tru, Do Thi My Hanh, Dang Thi Kim Hoa, Nguyen Van Phuong, Tran Huu Cuong Faculty of Accounting and Business Management, Hanoi University of Agriculture Trau Quy, Gia Lam, Ha Noi, Vietnam Corresponding author: (Received: October 31, 2011; Accepted: April 18, 2012) ABSTRACT The paper aims to show the positive effects that the current linkages models between vegetables producers and processed vegetable export companies in Luc Nam District, Bac Giang Province, Vietnam have brought to the participants, as well as discuss the obstacles and challenges that prevent the expansion and development of these linkage models in order to promote the linkages process in Bac Giang Province. A random survey was conducted on 50 households in the study area which specialize in cultivating the fruits and vegetables for the processed vegetable export companies. Up to 62% of the households do not participate in linkages, while the member households got higher and more stable incomes than non-member households, with a remarkable increase in profit of companies after joining the linkages. However, there are still some obstacles which prevent farmers to participate in the linkages. These include the small and scattered planted areas, the high requirements and initial investment, which makes some households maintain a risk-averse attitude, the informal information relating to lower collecting price, and the delay in payment of processed vegetable export companies in the previous unsuccessful linkages, which are still retained in farmers minds. Based on the opinions of farmers about the benefits that linkages brought to them and challenges that they are facing in the current linkages, as well the companies opinions about the state of current linkages models, some solutions in can be implemented to expand and strengthen the current linkage models in order to attract more farmers and companies to participate. These include (i) development of vegetable processing zones; (ii) participating in the Enterprise Association of Food Processing; (iii) coordination with input production suppliers; (iv) providing production techniques and vegetable markets information to producers; (v) sharing benefits with local authorities; (vi) sharing benefits and risks, rights and obligations should be mentioned clearly in contracts and (vii) support from the government. Key words: Coordination, enterprises, models, producers, solutions INTRODUCTION The fruit and vegetable sector has become more and more important in contributing to the development of Vietnam agriculture. With high added value creation and generating employment, the fruit and vegetables sector has a significant contribution to the Vietnam rural development and therefore, this sector is one of the priority development sectors of the government. In Vietnam, in recent years, fruit and vegetable sector has made significant achievements. According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (VINAFRUIT), the export value of Vietnam's fruits and vegetables sector reached over 471 million USD in 2010, increased 33 million USD compared to 2009 (Tri, 2011). \And one of the explanations for this success is the awareness of processed vegetables export companies of the importance of building and developing the linkages with farmers and with other 113

2 Linkages in production and distribution of exported vegetables.. companies involved in producing and consumption of vegetables. Linkages between stakeholders have existed in many sectors. Linkages models help the members to reduce the production cost, overcome the limitation of each member, create more added value and generate more employment, which contribute to the increase in product competitiveness, profit for companies, and improve livelihood for farmers in rural areas as well. Bac Giang is a northern midland province which is composed of 10 districts and isabout 50 km from Hanoi to the north. Of its 382 thousand ha, 124 thousand ha are agricultural land. Bac Giang has a population of 1.5 million, of which 870 belong to the working age (Chien, 2003). The vegetable producing area in Bac Giang is 21,875 hectares, with a yield reaching kg per ha at a production of 267,021 tons (Bac Giang Statistical Office, 2009). Bac Giang province is around 22,500 hectares of unused hilly land. This is also the potential for local vegetable production. And among the ten districts, Luc Nam district is the largest vegetable production area in Bac Giang province (approximately 2,000 hectares per year). It is one of the reasons for choosing this district for the survey. In recent years, linkage models between seed suppliers, vegetable producers, agricultural cooperatives and processed vegetable export companies have been built in Bac Giang province, especially in Luc Nam district. The linkages are often operated in seeds supply, fresh vegetable production, processing and distribution. Among these, however, the linkage in the process of production are strongest and most popular in the province. Therefore, this paper focuses on the linkage models in the production process in the study area. In general, the linkage models in Luc Nam district in fruit and vegetables sector are quite diverse, the existence of the vegetable producers associations, agricultural cooperatives and the increase in the number of agribusiness companies, free traders and input materials suppliers contribute to the diversity of the linkage models. The linkages may be between farmers and farmers, or between farmers, cooperatives and agribusiness enterprises, or between seed suppliers, agribusiness enterprises, cooperatives and farmers. However, most of the linkages are conducted through verbal contracts, written contracts are also used but not popular. In general, the linkages often are small, simple, quite loose, unstable and scattered. Breaching of contracts is still quite popular in Luc Nam district, especially when the market experiences price fluctuation, or changes in input materials. This has resulted in serious losses for the vegetable producers when they could not sell their products, meanwhile processing companies did not have the quality raw materials input to supply for the signed contracts. Therefore, the strong and weak points of the current linkage models in study areas would be analysed. Then, the reasons for enhancing the development of linkages in vegetable sector would highlight the benefits that linkages brought to members. Finally, the solutions to enhance the development of linkages also are suggested, based on the current obstacles and challenges. Study area METHODOLOGY Luc Nam is a mountain district of Bac Giang province that has 24 communes and a town with an area of 59,860 hectares. Luc Nam district is divided into 3 sub-regions, including mountainous, midland and delta regions. Farm land accounts for 35.5% and forestry land occupies 40% of the total area. The population of Luc Nam district is nearly 210,000 with eight ethic groups including King, Tay, Nung, Hoa, Dao, Cao Lan, San Diu and San Chi. Luc Nam district is known as the largest vegetable production location in Bac Giang province (2,000 hectares a year) (Bac Giang Statistic Office s Report, 2010). Dong Phu and Dong Hung are two mountain communes of Luc Nam district that were selected for this research. These two communes are located in the north of Bac Giang province with extensive cultivated areas, especially for fruits and vegetables. 114

3 J. ISSAAS Vol. 18, No. 1: (2012) Data collection The annual report of food crops average yield, planted area and productivity of Bac Giang Statistics Office was collected, which includes the information of geographical and climate conditions, as well the socio-economic development condition of the study areas. In addition, the annual reports of the Government and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD also were used to generalize the situation of production and export the processed vegetables in the province in general and in these two surveyed communes in particular). Regarding the primary data, before interviewing each household, the focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted in these two communes of study area which aims to collect the information about the current situation of actions relating to the linkages between farmers (vegetable producers) and the vegetable exporting firms in the process of producing vegetables. The FGD that was conducted in two days (Table 1), supplied information about the farmers opinion about the benefits obtained from the linkage models, as well the obstacles that prevented them from engaging the linkages. The solutions to strengthen the current linkage and to encourage the participation of more vegetable producers also were given by the members in the group discussion. Table1. Respondent profile from Luc Nam District Luc Nam District Participants Communes Dong Phu Dong Hung - Farmer Collector Chair of village Chair of commune Staff of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development The household survey and exporting vegetable companies survey were conducted after the FGD. On the one hand, to collect the characteristics information of the farms, the crops and the benefits that the farmers obtained from the linkages between them and the firms in production and distribution of exported vegetables, the questionnaires sheets were designed to interview 55 randomly chosen household heads (the vegetable producers) in Dong Phu and Dong Hung communes. On the other hand, to collect the information relating to the benefit that the vegetables exporting companies obtained and their linkage with the farmers, a semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview the companies that cooperated with the studied communes in producing, processing and distributing the export vegetables. The primary data were managed by Microsoft Excel and then analyzed by SPSS The characteristics and economic indicators of farms were analyzed and compared based on space (two surveyed communes: Dong Phu and Dong Hung) and the categories of farmers/agri-business in linkages and farmers/agri-business outside linkages. The study area characteristics RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Vegetable productivity in Luc Nam district is higher than those in other districts of Bac Giang province. Productivity of cucumber, cabbage and tomato reaches 3,279 tons, 2,271 tons and 3,865 tons, respectively. Higher productivity of vegetables requires the development of vertical linkages between farmers and firms in production and distribution of vegetables. With the large area for cultivating and a large number of labors in agricultural sector, the long-lasting experience in planting 115

4 Linkages in production and distribution of exported vegetables.. fruits and vegetables, the farmers in the two study communes, Dong Phu and Dong Hung, have a lot of advantages in producing the exported fruit and vegetables. In facts, these two communes always were the leading areas in yielding high capacity and supplying the quality vegetables to the market in comparison with other communes in the district. As described in the Table 2, there are various types of fruits and vegetables planted in these areas. In both sites, the vegetables types are planted for both local market and export. However, due to the high requirements of export vegetable production, as well the high initial investment for seeds and facilities, not all of the farmers can afford to invest in cultivating these vegetables, many of them simply plant the common vegetables for local market only. These also are the reasons why the linkages between farmers and agribusiness companies have shaped. However, with the quite strict and high requirements from these companies, many vegetable producers see these as the obstacles and are not ready to get involved in these linkages. Currently, the planted area for exported vegetables in Dong Phu is about 71.2 hectares (accounting for 6.5% of total planted area). The export vegetables are planted in two crops, including summer and winter crops, in which the summer crop area is estimated at about 35.2 hectares and the winter one is about 36 hectares. In the summer, baby cucumber, Japanese cucumber and pumpkin are planted and their total areas is estimated about 35.2 hectares, in which the area for baby cucumber is the largest (accounting for 66%), followed by pumpkin (18%) and Japanese cucumber (Tru et al. 2010). In Dong Hung, the export vegetable types planted are also quite diverse, to include baby cucumber, Japanese cucumber, baby maize and sweet maize. The planted area of export vegetables is about 186 hectares. Besides, there are many other popular fruits cultivated in this commune such as the Thieu lychee and longan. The planted area for Thieu lychee is about 300 hectares (accounting for about 30% of total planted area), followed by longan (5-7%). In both areas, due to high area for agricultural cultivation and the high rate for labor working in agricultural sector, hence, the income from fruits and vegetables production is the main source which accounts for approximately 80% of communes total income. Table 2. Production of fruits and vegetables in Dong Phu and Dong Hung communes Items Unit Dong Phu Dong Hung - Population person 10,500 15,864 - Total of planted area Hectares 1,523 3,759 - Planted area of fruits Hectares Planted area of vegetables Hectares Planted area of exported vegetables Hectares Major types of fruit Thieu Lychee, Persimmon - Major types of common vegetables Kangkong, onion, garlic, cabbage, - Major vegetable types for processing and export - Income from fruits and vegetables production Source: Group discussion, tomato, potato Baby cucumber, Japanese cucumber, baby tomato Thieu lychee, longan Onion, garlic, cabbage, tomato, potato Baby cucumber, Japanese cucumber, baby maize, sweet maize % 80 82

5 J. ISSAAS Vol. 18, No. 1: (2012) Reasons that lead to the existence of linkages in study area: The vegetable producers demand for quality input materials and technical supports In Bac Giang province, most of vegetable producers often buy their inputs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, etc) from the local stores which is quite convenient and time saving but the quality is not guaranteed. Meanwhile, cooperating in the linkages with processed vegetable export companies, the farmers are provided the input materials in advance. The expenses of these input materials just are paid back after harvest. These materials are provided by the contracts between the vegetable processing companies and the input materials supplying companies, in order to ensure the quality of the vegetables, the price of which is often equal or lower than the market price. In addition, the farmers in study areas often produce fresh vegetables based on their traditional experience without applying the technical advances that affect quality and productivity. The linkages between farmers and vegetable processing companies help the farmers in learning the technical advances. Owing to that, the farmers understand the benefits of new seeds, with higher productivity, or application of new standardized cultivating, harvesting and storage processes. All these technical support are supplied for free by the vegetable processing companies. Therefore, if the linkage is effective, it will bring benefits to three parties: the vegetable processing companies, input supply enterprises and producers. The limit of famer ability in finding markets for their vegetables In the main harvest season of vegetables, the supply increases that forces the farmers to find the markets for their products. Meanwhile, most vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, etc) must be processed immediately after harvest. If no contract with the processing enterprises, producers will have to sell vegetables to the traders or to local markets which often do not bring the expected price and expected benefit for the farmers. Linkage in contract with vegetable processing enterprises is a solution to help the member farmers deal with the difficulty in finding markets and ensure an expected price as provisioned in contracts. The lack of quality raw materials of processed vegetable export companies There are six agricultural products processing enterprises in Bac Giang province with the design capacity of each company from 1000 to 3300 tons per year. However, the plants are not operated with all designed capacity because of the lack in raw material. For example, the processing machine system of BAVECO just operates with their 55% of the designed capacity. In recent years, the input raw materials for these companies are extended, however the quality is not good and the source is not stable. Meanwhile, the market demand for processed vegetables is more and more increasing. Therefore, the requirement of establishing raw materials supplying areas is the long term development of these companies. And building linkages with farmers is a way to help the company achieve their goal of having stable and quality supplying source through supplying the input materials and transferring the technical in advance to the farmers. Characteristics of members in the linkages Characteristics of farmers in and outside the linkages. Through the survey in 50 households in Luc Nam district, the information of the current situation of linkages in study areas is described in the Table 3. Among the surveyed households in two communes, there are more households outside linkages rather than those joining linkages. There were 38 farmers who had joined the linkage already (69%) and 17 farmers were free (31%). The producers are keeping the traditional habit which is producing in small scare, and mainly by their available sources, without considering the benefits that linkages. There are two main linkage methods; those are verbal contracts and written contracts. The verbal contracts often are used in linkages between farmers and farmers or farmers and free traders 117

6 Linkages in production and distribution of exported vegetables.. who often supply seeds for them and collecting the vegetables on harvest seasons. This is a simple and quite loose linkage type. The written contracts are used in linkages among the vegetables producers, agricultural cooperatives and the input materials supplying companies; or among the vegetables producers and cooperatives and the vegetables processing companies. Table 3: The state of linkages in Luc Nam District Lục Nam District Criteria Dong Phu commune Dong Hung commune Total surveyed households (HH) - Households in linkages Households outside linkages Linkage methods Verbal contracts and written contracts Verbal contracts and written contracts Products in linkages Baby cucumbers, Japanese cucumbers, baby tomatoes, sweet maize, onions Baby cucumbers, baby tomatoes, sweet maize, onions Activities in linkages No of signed contracts in 2010 Supplying seeds and other input materials, technical supports and consume products Supplying seeds and other input materials, technical supports and consume products 11 8 In Luc Nam province, the most popular vegetables in linkages are baby cucumbers, baby tomatoes, and sweet maize. In general, most of the vegetables in linkages often are export vegetables, which often are processed before being exported to foreign markets. The linkages often are built through the specific activities. In planting vegetables, linkages often are built in the links of supplying seeds and input materials, supplying technical support and marketing the produce. In general, there are some differences between the farmers participating in linkages and the farmers do not cooperate with processed vegetable export companies. A majority of the household heads in both survey areas are male, among of them, the farmers who join the linkages (member farmers) often are younger than the farmers who did not participate in the linkages (non-member farmers). In addition, the number of laborers in member farmers households is higher than those in non-member households for both sites. One quite striking point should be noted is that, the capital of member families is much higher than those of the non-member families, while the vegetable planted areas of member families are marginally higher than those of non-member families. However, the composition of income between member families and non-member families is different. In member families, the income from vegetable production account for 50-55% in Dong Phu, and 55-58% in Dong Hung, while this figure in non-member families of Dong Phu and Dong Hung are just from 35-40% and 30-35%, respectively (Table 4.) Characteristics of processed vegetable export companies These companies play the key role in the linkages. They often link with other input material supplying companies to supply seeds and input materials for farmers, then these companies also ensure about the output of products for farmers. Table 5 supplies general information about four big processed vegetable export companies in study Bac Giang province. 118

7 J. ISSAAS Vol. 18, No. 1: (2012) Table 4. Characteristics of member and non-member farmers in Dong Phu and Dong Hung communes Characteristics Unit Dong Phu (n = 20) Dong Hung (n = 30) Member Non-member Member Non-member farms (n = 8) farms (n =12) farms (n = 11) farms (n = 19) - Age of household heads years-old Gender of household heads + Male + Female % % Number of family labors person Business capital million VND - Total of planted area m 2 3, , , , Planted area of vegetables % Income from vegetable production/total income from agricultural production Source: Surveyed data, 2010 % There are two types of vegetable processing enterprises in Bac Giang province, one is a joint stock company (JSC) and one is limited liability companies (Ltd.). The JSCs often have more direct laborers than the Ltd companies. Business capital of JSCs is larger than the capital of the Ltd companies. The designed capacity of enterprises is ranging from 1000 to 3300 tones per year. However, the operating capacity often is much lower. Among the surveyed companies, Bac Giang Foodstuff Export Joint Stock Company (BAVECO) has the highest operating capacity but due to the high designed capacity; therefore the efficiency is not high in comparison with other companies. Table 5. General characteristics of processed vegetable export companies in Bac Giang Province, Capital Designed Operating Turnover Enterprise Business fields Labor (mills capacity capacity (mills Direct Indirect VND) (ton year -1 ) (ton year -1 ) VND) 1. BAVECO JSCProcess and export processed fruits and vegetables Bac Giang Produce and Tobacco JSC process foodstuffs 3. Phương Export processed Đông Ltd. vegetables 4. Viet Nga Ltd. Produce and process foodstuff The role of cooperatives and local governments Cooperatives and local governments have important roles in promoting linkages between producers and enterprises. The legal status of the cooperative and the certification of local governments are important factors that bring the legal value for the contracts and manage the contract implementation of each partner in order to avoid breach of contracts in many cases. 119

8 Linkages in production and distribution of exported vegetables.. The linkages models in producing and exporting the processed vegetables in study areas 1- Linkages in supplying the input materials for vegetable producers Channel 1: Linkage between input materials suppliers - The processed vegetables export companies Vegetable producers In order to control the quality of vegetables, the processed vegetables export companies cooperate with input material suppliers to provide the necessary inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides through written contracts. The processed vegetables export companies are responsible for quality control of the inputs. By providing input materials, many vegetable processing companies build for their own the raw material producing areas, the farmers cultivating vegetables in these area would be given technical assistance in production, cultivation, harvest and storage of vegetables. Currently, Bac Giang Foodstuff Export Joint Stock Company (BAVECO) has been successful with this model. The contracts between these companies and farmers would be made through the chair of each village under the certification of the people committees of communes (Fig. 2). Processing and export companies of food, fruit and vegetable in Bac Giang province Processing and export companies of fruit and vegetable from other provinces (Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ha Nam) Written contracts Certified by people committees of communes Chairs of villages (Representatives for farmers) Farmers Fig. 2. Production linkages of export vegetables Channel 2: Linkage between Input materials suppliers and Vegetable producers Aside from channel 1, vegetable producers are also able to obtain input materials directly from supply companies. The volume and seed types are supplied to farmers subject to season and planted area and payment could be made after harvest (Fig. 3). Through this linkage, input suppliers.can introduce new seeds thereby expanding their market shares more quickly. The linkages are made through both written and verbal contracts. Besides the enterprises of Bac Giang province, the input supplying companies are also from the provinces such as Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ha Nam. Input materials suppliers The processed vegetables export companies Farmers Fig. 3. Linkages in supplying the inputs for vegetable production 120

9 J. ISSAAS Vol. 18, No. 1: (2012) 2- Linkages in producing and exporting the processed vegetables Channel 1: Farmers --- Cooperatives --- processed vegetables exporters --- Export Markets After being harvested, fresh vegetables are taken to the communes cooperatives by the members. At this point, vegetables would be collected by the head of cooperatives then be transferred to the processed vegetable exporters representatives. However, besides collecting vegetables from the members, in many cases the cooperatives also buy vegetables from the non-member farmers if the volume is not enough and the vegetables meet requirements. In this linkage model, the cooperative in each commune represents the famer members to sign the written contracts with processed vegetable export companies. In the contracts, the regulations of volume, quality, price and other specifications of vegetables would be provisioned. The head of cooperatives will sign the contracts after reaching the agreement with the member farmers. At this point, cooperatives have the responsibility of collecting the vegetables which follow the provisioned requirements and deliver to the collecting companies. The collecting companies often process and export the processed vegetables directly to the foreign markets or entrust them to the Vietnam National Vegetable, Fruit and Agricultural Products Corporation (Fig. 4). Channel 2: Farmers --- Local Traders --- Processed vegetables exporters--- Export Markets Vegetables going through this channel would be collected by the local traders directly in the field. Then, these traders sell the collected fresh vegetables to vegetable processing companies; these companies are the local companies or those from outside provinces. However, low volume of vegetables is purchased via this channel because the vegetable processing companies only buy the raw materials through this channel in case there is a serious shortage materials. Verbal contracts between local traders and companies are implemented in this case (Fig. 4). Farmer Farmer (1) (2) (3) Cooperatives Local traders Processed vegetables exporters (BAVECO) Procure sites in villages (Representative by village leader) Certified by people committees of communes Export markets (EU, US, Japan) The Vietnam National Vegetable, Fruit and Agricultural Products Corporation (VEGETEXCO) Fig. 4. Marketing channels of vegetables in Luc Nam district 3: Farmers --- Village leader --- Processed vegetables exporters --- Export Markets This is the most popular channel in both study areas; majority of the vegetables were sold through this linkage model. After harvest, vegetables are transported by farmers to collection sites of 121

10 Linkages in production and distribution of exported vegetables.. the villages. In this channel, the village leaders represents for the farmers to sign the contract with the processed vegetables exporters. The fresh collected vegetables are processed by processing companies and exported directly or via the VEGETEXCO to markets abroad. Even with written contracts, these simply provide the terms of volume, prices and collection time of vegetables. The other important clauses relating to sharing risks, the rights and obligations of the partners are not mentioned clearly in the contracts. Hence, conflicts between farmers and processing companies often occur during implementation. Especially in the peak period, when the market price is higher than the price provisioned in the formal contracts, the collecting companies do not want to increase the collecting price for the farmers. Meanwhile, free traders always have a higher price. Some farmers, therefore, break contracts and sell to free traders which affect the collected volume of companies. The reverse occurs when the market price is lower than the contract price, the processing companies want to reduce the farm gate price. Both farmers and processing companies also want to get more benefits for themselves. So, the reasonable benefit allocation which often is considered as the priority condition to ensure the success and stability of linkage has not been addressed yet. (Fig. 4). In both sites, one of the quite famous companies which plays an important role in collecting fresh vegetables is the Bac Giang Foodstuff Export Joint Stock Company (BAVECO). This is a quite a proactive company, taking initiatives in creating the linkages with the communes, in supplying the production inputs, transferring the techniques for farmers and collecting the fresh vegetables after harvest. It can be said that BAVECO is the leader in building the linkages models, which shows a professional distribution channel of vegetables in the study sites. In fact, BAVECO had written contracts with farmers in Luc Nam for various types of vegetables such as baby cucumber, Japanese cucumber, baby maize, sweet maize and baby tomato. The BAVECO signed contracts with the village s leaders, who are the representativea of the farmers in both sites. To legalize the contracts, people committees of communes would stamp on the contracts. The contract often contains the clauses of volume, categories, price of vegetables, planting and harvest procedures, etc. In order to avoid breach of contracts when there is a fluctuation in market price, the price clause in the contracts often are agreed that it would be adjusted 10% based on the market price. After signing contracts, village leaders would be responsible for managing the farmers in order to ensure the produced vegetables follow the provision requirements in the contracts. According to contracts, the BAVECO will provide the input materials such as seeds, fertilizer for the farmers, and the cost of these materials would be paid back just when the farmers sell vegetables. In addition, the BAVECO technical staff often collaborate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Agricultural Extension office in order to transit and assist farmers on the techniques in planting and harvesting the vegetables as a standard process (Fig. 5). Written contracts Farmers Production Processing Distribution The Bac Giang Foodstuff Export Joint Stock Company (BAVECO) Chairs of villages People committees of communes Luc Nam Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Centre of Agricultural Extension Fig. 5. Linkages in production, processing and distribution of export vegetables 122

11 J. ISSAAS Vol. 18, No. 1: (2012) Access the positive impacts of the current linkages to the members 1- Impacts to the member farmers In order to address the impacts of linkage to the vegetable producers, 50 random households were investigated, among of them 19 households participated in the linkages (accounted for 38%), and 31 households were out site the linkages (accounted for 62%). The most popular vegetables which were chosen to compare were baby cucumber, sweet maize, and baby tomato. As shown in Table 6, the cost of labor and materials are the main components of the total cost, which account for 69% in households in linkages and 68% in households outside linkages. However, these costs of the households having linkages with agribusiness companies are higher than those outside the linkages. In average, the cost per sao of households outside the linkages is lower about 300 thousands VND than households in linkages. This is due to the fact that the households in linkages have to follow the a standard process from the step of choosing seeds, fertilizer and cultivating and harvesting processes which provisioned by the collecting companies, meanwhile the households outside linkages just plant baby cucumbers by their traditional experience. The productivity of the fields supported by the linkages are higher by 50 kg per sao than those without linkages. In addition, the households in linkages that sign contract with the collecting companies can get a higher price than those outside the linkages. Therefore, the turnover of the farmers in linkages is quite higher than those outside the linkages. Hence, participating in the linkages, although it requires higher initial costs but in return the member farmers get higher productivity per sao, get a higher and more stable price which contributes to ensure a stable income for the farmers. Table 6: The baby cucumber production results of Luc Nam district in 2010 (Unit: 1 Sao = 360 m2) Household in linkages Household outside linkages (n = 19) (n = 31) 1. Cost (1.000 VND) - Seed Fertilizers Nitrogenous Phosphate Potassium Manure Frames Pesticides Labor Total cost Average productivity (kg per sao) Average Price (VND per kg) Turnover (thousand VND) Income (thousand VND) For baby tomato production, the cost of pesticides, materials and manure also are the main parts of the total cost. As in the producing of baby cucumbers, the total cost of producing the baby 123

12 Linkages in production and distribution of exported vegetables.. tomato of the households in the linkages also is higher than those of households outside the linkages. However, with higher productivity and higher price, the member family harvesting baby tomato has higher income of 1000 thousand VND per sao than those outside the linkages (this is a not small amount of money with the Vietnamese farmers) (Table 7) (Tru et al. 2010). Table 7: Baby tomato production result of Luc Nam district in 2010 Household in linkages (n = 19) 124 (Unit: 1 Sao = 360 m2) Household outside linkages (n = 31) 1. Cost (thousand VND) - Seed 104,4 100,2 - Fertilizer Nitrogenous 48,2 43,6 Phosphate 57,5 50,3 Potassium 90,6 84,9 Manure 400,9 383,2 - Frames 405,4 400,2 - Pesticides 500,7 508,6 - Labor 108,4 91,3 Total cost 1716,1 1662,3 2. Average productivity (kg sao -1 ) Average price (VND kg -1 ) Turnover (thousand VND) Income (thousand VND) 3183,9 2297,7 And the situation is the same with the households producing sweet maize as illustrated in Table 8. Table 8: Sweet maize production result of Luc Nam district in Cost (thousand VND) Household in linkages (n = 19) (Unit: 1 Sao = 360 m2) Household outside linkages (n = 31) - Seed 50,6 48,2 - Fertilizers Nitrogenous 96,2 90,1 Phosphate 57,1 55,6 Potassium 61,8 57,9 Manure 242,5 239,1 - Frames 480,2 486,9 - Pesticides 500,9 490,2 Total cost 1.489, ,0 2. Average productivity (kg sao -1 ) Average price (VND kg -1 ) Turnover (thousand VND) Income (thousand VND) 1.110,7 717,0

13 J. ISSAAS Vol. 18, No. 1: (2012) In order to investigate the famer opinions about the benefit of joining the linkages, 19 households in linkages were interviewed. The survey collected the assess opinion of farmers about which benefits of the linkages that were important to them. Among the benefits that the linkages bringing to the member farmers, the vegetable processing companies helps farmers sell the output was assessed the most important benefit, following is the benefit of supplying vegetable seeds and input materials, and next is the stable price that the vegetable processing companies ensure for the farmers. (Table 9) (Tru et al. 2010). Table 9: Farmers opinions about the benefit of joining the linkages. Luc Nam (n = 19) Criteria (1) (2) (3) - Supplying vegetable seeds and input materials 83,7 16,3 0,0 - Technical support 32,5 46,4 21,1 - Output for vegetables 91,8 8,2 0,0 - Stable price 81,6 12,7 5,7 - Creating jobs and increase income 62,3 26,9 10,8 - Improve the product quality 64,9 29,5 5,6 Note: (1): very important; (2): important; (3): not important Unit: % 2- Impact to the vegetable processing companies It can be said from the above opinions of farmers about their assessment with the benefit that linkages brings to them, the vegetable processing companies play an important role in the linkages that help farmers ensure sale of produce, supply the qualified input materials for them, help farmers have stable incomes. As mentioned above, one of the big export processed vegetables and having most influenced the linkages with farmers in the study areas is Bac Giang Foodstuff Export Joint Stock Company (BAVECO). It can be said that BAVECO is one of the leading companies in taking initiative to build linkages with farmers. Therefore, the research group chose BAVECO to compare the business results of BAVECO before and after building the linkages of farmers with agricultural inputs companies in order to know the benefit that linkages bring to the vegetable processing companies, such as BAVECO (Table 10). Table 10: Processed vegetables business results of BAVECO Criteria Unit Raw Material Area ha Collection Quantity ton - Baby cucumbers Baby tomatoes Baby maize Sweet maize France onions Collection Price millionsvnd ton -1 - Baby cucumbers 5 5 3,8 - Baby tomatoes 4,5 4,5 3,2 - Baby maize 8,5 9,0 9,0 - Sweet maize 3,0 2,5 2,5 - France onions 5,0 5,0 5,0 125

14 Linkages in production and distribution of exported vegetables.. Criteria Unit Processing time - Baby cucumbers No Data year Baby tomatoes Baby maize Sweet maize France onions Total revenue Billion VND Revenue from processing vegetables 6. Profit from processing Billion VND 0,8 1,0 1,2 vegetables BAVECO built the linkages since 2009 and this helps BAVECO have a stable supply of its raw materials from a total area of 589 hectares. In fact, the quantity of raw materials increased for the period of three years, but the collection prices of some raw materials such as baby cucumber and baby tomatos decreased. This is due to the increase in supply sources and the world economic crisis which affected the business. However, over a period of three years, the total revenue from processing vegetable of BAVECO increased by 9 billion VND (56.25%), the profit also increased by 50%, from 0.8 billion VND in 2007 to 1.2 billion VND in Hence, it can be said that linkages contribute to expand the business of BAVECO, ensure a stable supply of raw materials and increase the profit for the company. Challenges to members in the linkages 1- To vegetable producers In both surveyed communes, the increasing in the input materials prices is the biggest concern of farmers. One of the other concerns of the member farmers is the state of price squeeze of the collectors including the vegetable processing companies and the delay in payment from these companies. The collecting companies explained this matter by arguing that they have to face with the increase in the production cost, especially when the domestic economy was affected by the world economic crisis. However, the farmers also understand the difficulty of processing companies and often accept the delay in payment. (Table 11) (Tru et al. 2010). The lack of market information is also one of the difficult problems with farmers when they participate in the linkages, because most farmers just know to supply the vegetables to processing companies without knowing the price of vegetable after being processed or where it is delivered, etc. This, sometimes, affects the trust of member farmers to the processing companies. Table 11: Obstacles affecting the linkages Unit: % Luc Nam (n = 20) Obstacles (1) (2) (3) Climate change 38,6 52,4 8,9 Small and insufficient planted area 29,8 57,8 12,4 Price increase of inputs 76,2 18,5 5,3 Old harvest and storage equipment 31,1 48,1 20,8 Price squeeze of collectors 16,2 70,4 13,4 Delay in payment 27,8 64,3 7,9 Lack of market information 17,9 71,5 10,6 Note: (1): very difficult; (2): difficult; (3): not difficult 126

15 J. ISSAAS Vol. 18, No. 1: (2012) 2- To Vegetable processing companies Through the interview with the vegetable processing companies, some of the difficulties that these companies faced in making linkages were brought forth. The processing companies have not built up large raw material areas and concentrated in the province; small and scattered raw material areas lead to the lack in initiative in production and dependence on the local suppliers. In addition, the non-uniformity in quality and size of products are obstacles for processing companies which leads to the high removal rate of fruits and vegetables that contribute to the impossibility of operating with its designed capacity. (Table 12) (Cuong et al. 2011). Table 12: Difficulties in collecting, processing and distributing the processed vegetables by processing companies Companies difficulties 1. Collecting - Scatted and small raw material areas - Non-uniformity in product size and quality - Competion with others enterprises - Contracts broken of memeber farmers 2. Processing - Lack of raw materials - High removal rate of vegetables - Increasing input costs (e.g.electricity, water) 3. Distributing - Higher and higher quality and food safety requirements - World and domestic economic crisis - Limit in state policy of supporting and enhancing exporting agri-products Solutions to improve and develop the linkages models 1- Solutions for vegetable processing enterprises Development of vegetable production zones- In order to maintain production and processing operations in the long-term, it is necessary for the vegetable processing companies to establish the material zones. To do that, the company should collaborate with the local authorities and farmers, offer more benefit for the vegetable producers. Participating in the Enterprise Association of Food Processing- The Bac Giang Enterprise Association of Food Processing was founded in 2008 in Bac Giang city, Bac Giang province. At present, there are 8 enterprises which operate as members of this association. According to the members, the companies would obtain many benefits when they join the association. Being an association member, the enterprises would avoid the competition for materials among the processing companies; obtain the market information of vegetables provided by the association; and improve the market access capacity to domestic and foreign markets. The agreement between members would help to stabilize vegetable prices and avoid breach of contract by farmers. Coordination with input production suppliers- In the study areas, there are just few companies aware of the benefit when they link with input material suppliers. If the cooperation in supplying input materials such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, capital and techniques is implemented, 3 partners can get benefits: 1) the vegetable processing companies can gain assistances related to capital and techniques from input suppliers; 2) the vegetable processing companies can control the quality of output products; 3) farmers can get capital, materials and technical assistances from input suppliers; 4) input suppliers can distribute to broader and more stable markets; and 5) reduced risks for input suppliers compared with selling materials directly to farmers (Fig. 6). 127

16 Linkages in production and distribution of exported vegetables.. The BAVECO Farmers Written contracts Input suppliers (Seed/fertilizer/pesticide companies/banks) Fig 6. Linkages among the BAVECO, input suppliers and farmers Providing production techniques and vegetable markets information to producers - Farmers grow vegetables, but they could not have access to the markets. Hence, the information related to markets, prices, volume of products and categories of products should be supplied by the Department of Industry and Commerce and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Luc Nam district. Farmers can get information through discussions and/or via media tools inside communes. Information provided on time can assist farmers in making decisions on producing and distributing fruits and vegetables and ensure a mutual benefit in linkages. Sharing benefits with local authorities- Village leaders in communes act as monitors who manage and supervise farmers to follow the regulations in contracts. In 2009, in Luc Nam district, processed and export company of food, fruit and vegetables collected baby cucumber from farmers at the price of 3,800 VND per kg. However, the companies often spend about 200 VND per kg to pay for the village leaders (Hoa 2009). This benefit encourages chairs of villages to do their work well. In addition, the technical staff of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Centre of Agricultural Extension also play an important role in supporting the companies by transferring the techniques to vegetable producers. Therefore, the sharing of benefits for these staff would encourage them in finish their jobs well. Sharing benefits and risks, rights and obligations should be mentioned clearly in contracts - Contract farming is like a tool of the vertical linkage. Relationships among members in the vertical linkages are revealed through contracts. The success of contract farming depends so much on issues: sharing benefits and risks, rights and obligations of partners. Actually, contracts between the agribusiness companies and farmers only focus on product volume, product quality characteristics, collection price and price adjustment, planting and harvest process. Contents of contracts lacked items regulating the risk sharing, rights and obligations of each side. There are a lot of risks in planting, harvest and processing of vegetables, such as changing of weather conditions, increase in insects pest populations, unexpected productivity, and price fluctuation. Rights and obligations item also are important issues because they mention the responsibility of each side in contract implemention process. For example, in the production process, these items regulate the responsibility of vegetable producers have to follow the the planting and harvest schedules, purchase and use of production inputs and materials (labor, capital, fertilizer, pesticide, equipments, facilities, etc) as provisioned. Or in the peak period, the risk and value sharing item would help stabilize the price, ensure the mutual benefit between both sides and make producers feel secure to plant vegetables. 2- Solutions for vegetable producers These include large scale production, the vegetable producers should erase the bad traditional habit and apply the technology and advanced techniques in their areas. The farmers also should take initiative in obtaining information relating to the market, from that to aware of changing of customer 128

17 J. ISSAAS Vol. 18, No. 1: (2012) habit in marketing the agricultural products. Furthermore, the farmers should cooperate tightly with the vegetable processing companies, and not break the contracts for short term benefits. 3- Support from the government Care more about the support for vegetable processing companies: The government still plays an minor role in the linkages. By supporting the companies building the material zones, or supplying credit for member producers and processing companies, the government could encourage the participation of members, improve and strengthen the linkages, in order to promote its benefits to social economic development. It also should release the guide in implementing the contracts, regulates the clear rights and obligations of each sides, this will help to reduce the contract broken of partners. Furthermore, the government should enhance the role of the Vietnam National Vegetable, Fruit and Agricultural Product Corporation (VEGETEXCO)in promoting and advertising the image of fruit and vegetables sector of Vietnam to international markets. CONCLUSIONS The linkage models between vegetable producers and agribusiness companies are bringing benefits to the social economic development in the local areas. However, there are many obstacles that prevent farmers and vegetable processing companies from participating in the linkages. The linkages brought benefits to producers including gaining the input materials provided by the agribusiness companies, access to technical assistance in production, cultivation and harvest, having stable prices and income, job creation and product quality improvement. In terms of the processing companies, they gained benefits from a stable supply and quality raw materials, taking initiative in processing and distributing the processed vegetables, reduced transaction cost and as a result increase in profit for companies. The development of written contract procedure is a long term measure to ensure the sustainable development of the linkage models. Contents of contracts should not only mention the usual items, but should also include the risk and value sharing items. The challenges of the linkages, include: 1) small-scale production; 2) increase in prices of input production; 3) poor storage and processing facilities; 4) late payment from processing and export companies; 5) lack of market information; 6) scattered production material zones; 7) nonuniformity of product sizes and quality; 8) difficulty in collection of raw materials between firms and 9) maintain stable export contracts. In order to promote the linkages between processing and export companies and local farmers in Luc Nam district, Bac Giang province, it is necessary to raise the awareness of responsibilities of both sides. The vegetable processing companies should develop vegetable production zones, participate in the Enterprise Association of Food Processing and coordinate with input production suppliers, provide production techniques and vegetable markets information to producers, and share partly benefits with local authorities. The vegetable producers should apply new technologies in production and follow seriously the regulations provisioned in signed contracts. Finally, the government should strengthen its role by supporting members in the linkages by credit or technology transfer through VEGETEXCO to help enterprises promote and advertise the image of the fruit and vegetables sector of Vietnam to the international market. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The study was financially supported by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and Hanoi University of Agriculture (HUA), Vietnam, under the Program of Scientific Research and the 129